Whinter Vanderburgh
Whinter Vanderburgh is a graduate of Siren Academy, a former member of Team GEWL, and a minor character in The Coming Storm. Appearance Whinter is a woman of a slightly above-average build and height with minimal muscle definition. She has pale skin, icy blue eyes, and wavy purple hair that fades into a white ombre at the ends. She keeps it up in a high ponytail, and tied in the fronts with smal blue clasps, as to keep it out of her face as much as possible, save for a single wavy strand that rests on her nose. In her age, her hair has started turning white as seen by the roots of her scalp; her face has also started taking on wrinkles around the eyes. Her bushy white tail is that of an arctic fox's and extends down to her ankle where it ends in a curved point. Underneath her right eye is a slanted scar extending from the bottom tip of her ear to the outer rim of her right nostril. Whinter's standard outfit consists of a dark blue tunic with cutout shoulders and lilac trim; its sleeves are puffed out at the level of her triceps, and come to a point at the center of her hands. The shirt extends and splits into two halves, with slits down the sides and coattails in the back; her emblem is embellished on the front of her tunic under the left collar bone. Underneath this she dons a black bodysuit bound by a white belt with an ornate buckle. Her footwear is a thigh-high pair of leather boots with blue clasps on the left sides, and an undone seam that allows the tops to hang freely. The heels are silver stilettos and measure three inches high. In addition to standard clothing, Whinter also guards herself with sleek white body armor, including a breastplate, arm bands, and greaves—all of which were lined with a sky blue trim. To hide her identity from certain people, she wears a modified kitsune mask over her face when she's out in public. Personality Whinter is tired and trying to figure out her future one step at a time. She spends much of her time reading books and browsing the news on her scroll, as well as sewing her own clothes when the need or motivation arises. She keeps quiet often, preferring to listen rather than speak as she finds holding a conversation rather exhausting the longer it goes on. Being social is not one of her strong suits; however, when the need to speak arises, Whinter puts lots of feeling into her words in order to get the point across, either as clearly or quickly as possible. The people she interacts with often irritate her, and it's rare that she finds common ground with anyone in recent days. Plenty of people who aren't directly acquainted with her might refer to her as callous or sometimes scary, due to dark clouds looming over her head. In her earlier days, both on Menagerie and at Siren, Whinter was a shy person and someone who preferred to stay on the sidelines and help rather than tackle problems head-on herself. She became most irritated by distracting noises while doing homework or classwork, especially sounds within immediate earshot. She and her friend Eden kept their team in line the majority of the time, as she never would've broken out of her shell if it weren't for teammates more bombastic and headstrong than she would ever be. Background Before spending the better part of her life in Xervia, Whinter grew up in Menagerie with thousands of other Faunus like herself. Her father had died not long before her birth, and her mother grew cold feet and left her in the hands of better people without so much as naming her; the people who raised her were her grandparents, a lovely couple named Dublin and Seraphina. The two of them couldn't decide between their top choices—Whitney and Aster—and compromised on a combination of both, thus naming her Whinter. She preferred to spend the better time of her life indoors doing a variety of crafts, including sewing which enabled her to make all of her own clothes. Some day back when she was not much older than eleven, Whinter met a boy with a tail similar to hers. They collided in the marketplace while he was running, spilled her groceries, and helped her clean them up. He introduced himself as Guadalupe and invited her over to his place to hang out, where she met his friends Leilani and Eden. The four gradually developed a friendship that held strong bonds despite how many times Guadalupe butted heads with Leilani, leaving Whinter and Eden to be the ones that broke them up and ultimately monitor their overall chemistry. There was one such adventure during their childhood days where Guadalupe thought it would be fun to venture out into the desert terrain and discover what lies out in the uninhabitable lands. The other three were skeptical but nonetheless followed him out, bracing themselves for the worst. What they did to initially defend themselves proved to be futile, as the dangerous wildlife in the area advanced on the group, going for Whinter first. She stood frozen and unable to move, as fear overwhelmed her and not knowing what to do she panicked, calling in mere whimpers for help. Guadalupe ultimately saved her life by taking the hit, but lost his left eye in the process. Eden, Leilani, and Whinter took him home where he was strongly reprimanded by his parents, and Whinter's grandparents thought it would be safer for her to stay away from him. She refused to heed their warnings, and continued to develop her bond with Guadalupe, to whom she became grateful for preventing the end of her short existence. Years later, the four were teenagers and decided they wanted to do something other than roam Menagerie for the rest of their lives in fear of what awaited them in the outside world. The first chance they had, they said their farewells and hopped on a boat headed north, planning to attend an academy that would give them further opportunities to train, fight, and defend others who needed heroes to save them. Their original plan was to head for Mistral and sign up at Haven Academy, though their lack of prior training save for hand-to-hand and melee made them inexperienced and required further research before they could attend school. Determined, they made their first stop in the city of Xervia where they began a self-taught educational experience. They crafted their first weapons, were introduced to the concept of Semblances, and studied Dust and its capabilities. What they created was barely a feasible start to their careers as Huntsmen and Huntresses, but nonetheless a start. Before they headed north for Haven, Whinter began to fall in love with Xervia and all it had to offer. The culture was incredibly diverse, a melting pot for humans and Faunus of all kinds. The entertainment industry was booming, as was the combat school none of the four had taken notice of before. She suggested they apply there instead, and though Eden, Guadalupe, and Leilani were skeptical of changing their plan, they did so after a little more convincing. Whinter passed the physical exam with a score of 7.5 out of 10, a mediocre performance that got her into the school with her friends who scored similarly. Initiation was rocky, but they managed to find each other. She became Guadalupe's partner and companion from that day on, as well as the unofficial co-captain of Team GEWL. The next four years of their education went about rather joyfully; she along with her friends got into all kinds of trouble and equal parts success. (WIP) Combat Abilities Whinter is a quick witted fighter who won't hesitate when she sees an opening. She keeps light on her feet, analyzes a situation as most she can in a given amount of time, and won't hesitate to put a plan in motion when she comes up with something no matter how little details she has to work with. Naturally her greatest attribute is speed, desiring above all to start and finish a fight as fast as physically possible. Thanks to her Semblance she can dash at great speeds, further enabling the chances of a quick finish. There are times when she gets reall y in the zone, and as a result she can become much more fluid and precise with her movements, able to switch between weapon forms in a matter of seconds. Mid-battle when she becomes hyper-focused, Whinter is ultimately oblivious to certain aspects of her surroundings and doesn't slow down to take in the little details. A well executed hit can throw her horribly off balance. Semblance Whinter's Semblance is called Fox Mirage. The way this works, Whinter pauses for a moment to "charge" her speed up, and then moves forward fast enough that she appears in multiple afterimages behind her. Her actual physical self appears at the beginning of the illusion path, and the afterimages act as a "sliding of the hands" trick, to confuse and potentially redirect the opponent's attention, as they reflect the movements she made between her charging position and her ending pose. Fox Mirage can last for anywhere between one second and ten seconds, depending on her stamina, physical condition, or determination. *For further reference, see Star Fox's Fox Illusion attack here. Weapon Name: Gelida Petalis {or Frozen Petals in Latin} Primary Type: Melee Modeled After: An odachi and a handgun Capabilities: Gelida Petalis is a decorated gun and blade. Whinter's preferred choice for combat is the standard form, with the blade inserted into the end of the gun just above the barrel. In this form it acts as a sword, but with the disadvantage of being unable to use the gun. She generally has more control over her movements this way. The trigger remains locked in this format to prevent malfunctions or accidents. By removing the blade, a handle pops out allowing it to be used even outside standard form, but the lack of a solid grip makes it more difficult to maneuver. Whinter can fold down the handle with the rose and unlock the trigger in order to open fire, now that the sword part is out. By turning the handle of the detached sword, two more blades slide out from within the first and position themselves fifteen degrees apart to mimic a set of claws. She has affectionately named this form "Feral Claws," to refer to a looser and less restrained style of fighting. Gelida Petalis loads with clips that can be inserted via the handle; the rose on the bottom of the handle pops off, allowing for said clip space. The ammo it's able to fire is either standard bullets or shells filled with Dust. Relationships Guadalupe Wolfgang: Whinter met Guadalupe along with the rest of her team at a young age, and despite some initial personality clashes, the two found common links in due time and became best friends. This relationship later in life blossomed into a romance after they graduated Siren together. After Eden's death, Whinter realized she needed to reevaluate her life and morals and departed for lands unknown, subsequently breaking off her engagement to Guadalupe. Her feelings for him remain unchanged, but once she returns they may be thrown into question. Leilani Palila: The woman was her best friend and most trusted companion in stressful times. Leilani and Whinter shared a bond that couldn't easily be broken, as together they made a formidable partnership against any threat. In much later years, Whinter was thrown for a loop when it was revealed Leilani had deep romantic feelings for her, to which she couldn't return due to her ongoing relationship with Guadalupe. Eden Mayfield: Although they were shy towards each other at first, Eden and Whinter found a common bond having to keep Leilani and Guadalupe from butting heads often, as they proved to be the rational and understanding side of their team. She was the one who encouraged him to confess his feelings to Leilani prior to learning she was in love with someone else. To this day, Whinter has many things she never got to say to Eden before his death and deeply regrets not acting sooner. Chrysanthemum Daaelia: Whinter doesn't remember too much about Chrysanthemum, but she still holds the memory of the woman close at heart. She has trusted the woman to keep her informed should disaster fall upon Xervia or its people. Trivia * Whinter's name is a variation of the word wintar, which is of old Germanic origin,meaning "time of water," in reference to the season. Winter is most commonly associated with the color white. **Her last name Vanderburgh is of Germanic origin, van den meaning "from the" and berg meaning "mountain." The full translation of her name means "from the winter mountain." *Whinter is based off the fox from a fairy tale called The Fox and the Wolf. *Whinter's Faunus species is the Arctic Fox. *Her theme song is Blinding by Florence + The Machine.